Method and apparatus for determining a mixing regime for use in the preparation of animal feed from a set of ingredients, and a system for producing the animal feed

Abstract

A method and apparatus for determining a mixing regime for use in the preparation of an animal feed in which a main computer is programmed to store a master list of ingredients which are available to farmers and from which a farmer can select a specific set of ingredients for the preparation of animal feed. The main computer is programmed to store the ingredients in a look-up table cross-referenced with standard mixing periods to which the respective ingredients should be subjected during the mixing regime to produce an animal feed. Additionally, the look-up table contains mixing factors by which the standard mixing periods may be altered in order to take account of non-standard conditions, such as variations of the ingredients, the proportion of the particular ingredient, the average size or weight of the animals and the mixing apparatus and condition thereof in which the animal feed is to be mixed. The computer is programmed to determine the mixing period to which each ingredient is to be subjected in the mixing apparatus based on the corresponding standard mixing periods and any mixing factors which should be taken into account. The computer is programmed to then produce a sequence in which the ingredients are to be loaded into the mixing apparatus and the instants at which the respective ingredients are to be loaded into the mixing apparatus, so that each ingredient is subjected to the appropriate mixing period for that ingredient during the mixing cycle of the mixing regime, in order to avoid over-mixing and under-mixing of ingredients.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for determining a mixing regime under which ingredients of a set of ingredients are to be mixed in the preparation of animal feed, the method comprising:
 reading the ingredients from the set of ingredients, 
 obtaining standard mixing periods for at least some of the respective ingredients of the set thereof from a master table comprising a list of ingredients or categories of ingredients suitable for use in the preparation of animal feeds cross-referenced with corresponding standard mixing periods, 
 identifying any non-standard conditions identifiable from the read set of ingredients, 
 in response to a non-standard condition being identified, obtaining a mixing factor from mixing factors cross-referenced with at least some of the ingredients or categories of ingredients in the master table, for altering the standard mixing period obtained for a corresponding one of the ingredients of the set of ingredients to compensate for the identified non-standard condition, 
 determining the mixing periods to which the at least some of the ingredients of the set thereof are to be subjected during a mixing cycle of the mixing regime as a function of the corresponding standard mixing periods and any corresponding identified mixing factors, and 
 producing a loading sequence of the mixing regime in which the ingredients of the set of ingredients are to be loaded into mixing apparatus during the mixing cycle for mixing thereof to produce the animal feed, so that the ingredients for which mixing periods are determined are subjected to mixing for the corresponding determined mixing periods during mixing of the set of ingredients under the mixing regime. 
 
     
     
       2. A method as claimed in  claim 1  in which the instants during the mixing cycle of the mixing regime at which the ingredients should be loaded into the mixing apparatus are defined in the mixing regime. 
     
     
       3. A method as claimed in  claim 1  in which the proportion of each ingredient of the set of ingredients to produce the animal feed per animal is read. 
     
     
       4. A method as claimed in  claim 1  in which the master table comprises the mixing factors cross-referenced with the corresponding ingredients or categories of ingredients. 
     
     
       5. A method as claimed in  claim 1  in which the master table is stored in a computer readable medium. 
     
     
       6. A method as claimed in  claim 1  in which each mixing factor is provided as a multiplier by which the standard mixing period of the corresponding ingredient or category of ingredients in the master table is to be multiplied in order to alter the standard mixing period for that ingredient or category of ingredients to compensate for the identified non-standard condition, the mixing factors being numbers which may be equal to, greater than or less than one. 
     
     
       7. A method as claimed in  claim 1  in which the non-standard conditions may relate to any one or more of the following:
 a characteristic of one of the ingredients of the set of ingredients, 
 a proportion of the set of ingredients constituted by one ingredient of the set of ingredients, 
 a characteristic of the set of ingredients, 
 a characteristic of an animal to which the animal feed is to be fed, 
 the size of the animal to which the animal feed is to be fed, 
 the mixing apparatus in which the ingredients of the set of ingredients are to be mixed to produce the animal feed, 
 the type of the mixing apparatus, and 
 the model of the mixing apparatus. 
 
     
     
       8. A method as claimed in  claim 1  in which the method is adapted for determining the mixing regime for use in the mixing of the set of ingredients in a mixing apparatus which comprises a chopping function. 
     
     
       9. A method as claimed in  claim 8  in which the method is adapted for determining the mixing regime for use in the mixing of the set of ingredients in a mixing apparatus in which the chopping function is carried out simultaneously with mixing of the ingredients in the mixing apparatus. 
     
     
       10. A method as claimed in  claim 8  in which the method is adapted for determining the mixing regime for use in mixing of the set of ingredients in mixing apparatus comprising a mixing rotor rotatably mounted in a mixing chamber. 
     
     
       11. A method as claimed in  claim 10  in which each standard mixing period is defined as a function of a number of revolutions of the mixing rotor of the mixing apparatus. 
     
     
       12. A method as claimed in  claim 10  in which the mixing regime defines the instants at which the respective ingredients of the set of ingredients are to be loaded into the mixing apparatus as the numbers of revolutions of the mixing rotor which have elapsed from the commencement of the mixing cycle of the mixing regime at which the respective ingredients are to be loaded into the mixing apparatus. 
     
     
       13. A computer programme encoding a set of computer instructions for determining a mixing regime under which ingredients of a set of ingredients are to be mixed in the preparation of animal feed, which when running on a computer is adapted to perform a method as claimed in  claim 1 . 
     
     
       14. A computer programme stored on a computer readable storage medium having encoded thereon data and computer instructions for determining a mixing regime under which ingredients of a set of ingredients are to be mixed in the preparation of animal feed, for causing a computer to implement a method as claimed in  claim 1 . 
     
     
       15. A computer provided with or running a computer programme encoding a method for determining a mixing regime under which ingredients of a set of ingredients are to be mixed in the preparation of animal feed as claimed in  claim 1 . 
     
     
       16. A computer implemented method for determining a mixing regime under which ingredients of a set of ingredients are to be mixed in the preparation of animal feed, the computer implemented method comprising:
 reading the ingredients from the set of ingredients into a computer, 
 obtaining standard mixing periods for at least some of the respective ingredients of the set thereof from a master table comprising a list of ingredients or categories of ingredients suitable for use in the preparation of animal feeds cross-referenced with corresponding standard mixing periods stored in a computer readable medium, 
 identifying any non-standard conditions identifiable from the read set of ingredients, 
 in response to a non-standard condition being identified, obtaining a mixing factor from mixing factors cross-referenced with at least some of the ingredients or categories of ingredients in the master table, for altering the standard mixing period obtained for a corresponding one of the ingredients of the set of ingredients to compensate for the identified non-standard condition, 
 determining the mixing periods to which the at least some of the ingredients of the set thereof are to be subjected during a mixing cycle of the mixing regime as a function of the corresponding standard mixing periods and any corresponding mixing factors, and 
 producing a loading sequence of the mixing regime in which the ingredients of the set of ingredients are to be loaded into mixing apparatus during the mixing cycle for mixing thereof to produce the animal feed, so that the ingredients for which mixing periods are determined are subjected to mixing for the corresponding determined mixing periods during mixing of the set of ingredients under the mixing regime. 
 
     
     
       17. Apparatus for determining a mixing regime under which ingredients of a set of ingredients are to be mixed in the preparation of animal feed, the apparatus comprising a main computer configured
 to store a master table comprising a list of ingredients or categories of ingredients suitable for use in the preparation of animal feeds cross-referenced with corresponding standard mixing periods, 
 to store at least one mixing factor for at least some of the ingredients or categories of ingredients of the master table cross-referenced with the corresponding ingredient or category of ingredient, each mixing factor being adapted to be applied to the standard mixing period of the corresponding ingredient or category of ingredient for altering the standard mixing period thereof in response to a non-standard condition being identified in a set of ingredients for which a mixing regime is to be determined, 
 to read the ingredients from the set of ingredients, 
 to obtain standard mixing periods for at least some of the ingredients of the set of ingredients from the master table, 
 to identify any non-standard conditions identifiable from the set of ingredients, 
 to obtain a mixing factor from the stored mixing factors for one of the ingredients to compensate for an identified non-standard condition, in response to an identified non-standard condition, 
 to determine the mixing periods for at least some of the ingredients of the set of ingredients to which those ingredients are to be subjected during a mixing cycle of the mixing regime as a function of the corresponding standard mixing periods and any corresponding mixing factors, and 
 to produce a loading sequence of the mixing regime in which the ingredients of the set of ingredients are to be loaded into the mixing apparatus during the mixing cycle for mixing thereof to produce the animal feed, so that the ingredients for which mixing periods are determined are subjected to mixing for the respective corresponding determined mixing periods during mixing of the set of ingredients under the mixing regime. 
 
     
     
       18. A system for determining a mixing regime for use in the preparation of animal feed from a set of ingredients, the system comprising the apparatus as claimed in  claim 17  and a first secondary computer, the first secondary computer being configured to be communicable with the main computer, and to facilitate inputting of the ingredients of the set of ingredients so that the main computer can read the inputted ingredients of the set of ingredients from the first secondary computer, and the main computer is configured to relay the determined mixing regime to the first secondary computer. 
     
     
       19. A system as claimed in  claim 18  in which the system comprises mixing apparatus in which the ingredients are to be mixed, and a second secondary computer is provided associated with the mixing apparatus for indicating the loading sequence of the determined mixing regime under which the ingredients of the set of ingredients are to be loaded into the mixing apparatus during the mixing cycle of the mixing regime, a transfer means being provided for transferring the determined mixing regime from the first secondary computer to the second secondary computer. 
     
     
       20. A system as claimed in  claim 19  in which a weighing means is provided on the mixing apparatus for weighing the ingredients as the ingredients are being loaded into the mixing apparatus, and the mixing apparatus comprises a mixing rotor for mixing the ingredients therein, and a monitoring means is provided for monitoring the number of revolutions of the mixing rotor, the second secondary computer being communicable with the weighing means and the monitoring means and being configured to read the current weight of ingredients in the mixing apparatus, and for reading the current number of revolutions of the mixing rotor to which the ingredients in the mixing apparatus have been subjected.